What is your hometown?

Pasadena, CA

When did you join the UI faculty?

2002

How/when did you become interested in science and medicine?

I have been fascinated by science from the first day I started learning about it in 2nd grade.  I made the decision to become a physician in high school.  It was a pretty easy decision, since several members of my family are physicians.

What interested you to pursue a career in Emergency Medicine?  

I was initially drawn to emergency medicine (EM) by its reputation for action and excitement, which, as it turns out, is not all that accurate.  As I learned more about the field, I discovered that being an Emergency Physician is the greatest job in the world because every patient has a unique problem that I can at least start to address in their visit to the ER, every patient is different and I never know what’s coming next, and the busier the department gets, the more fun I have!

Is there a teacher or mentor who helped shape your career?

Dr. William Mallon at USC is the funniest, loudest, and most brilliant physician I have ever known.

How or why did you choose the UI?

My wife (Kristi Chang, Dept of Oto) came here to complete a one-year fellowship in Head and Neck Surgery.  We had planned to return to Los Angeles when her program was over.  That was five years ago and counting.  We have since fallen in love with Iowa City and both enjoy the unique career opportunities that the UI offers to us. 

What kinds of professional opportunities or advantages does being a faculty member at Iowa provide? What about challenges?

The University of Iowa encourages innovation.  Since the field of Emergency Medicine is relatively new to Iowa, we are fairly unconstrained in the opportunity to challenge ourselves with new designs for patient management and to introduce different concepts for EM education.

Please describe your professional interests. 

Tropical Medicine, travel medicine, resident education, emergency care for mass-gathering events.

What are some of your outside interests? 

My wife, my new daughter, and my two wonderful dogs!  Also, college football and creative writing

Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your professional work? 

Have fun and love what you are doing

If you could change one thing about the world (or the world of medicine), what would it be? 

Universal healthcare coverage

What is the biggest change you've experienced in your field since you were a student? 

The advents of new, more sophisticated mediations and devices for airway management as well as for procedural sedation have made these critically important procedures much safer.

What one piece of advice you would give to today's students? 

Find a specialty of medicine that you truly love. If you are not happy with your work, your attitude will reflect it and your rapport with patients will be impaired. 

What do you see as "the future" of medicine?

There will be an increased reliance on the Emergency Department as a safety net as the nation’s health care system is stretched further toward the breaking point.  The combination of less access to care and increased cost of Medicare and Medicaid will eventually force a dramatic political solution.  It could be painful for all of us.

In what ways are you engaged with the greater Iowa public (i.e. population based research, mentoring high school students, sharing your leadership/expertise with organizations or causes, speaking engagements off campus, etc.)?

I am the President of the Iowa Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, so I have numerous duties that involve educating Emergency Physicians and nurses statewide and advocating for the proper care of emergency patients at the local and state level.